Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about our dogs and our Organization.

The majority of dogs we have come from New England dog pounds and animal shelters, as that is our first priority. These dogs end up in this situation for many reasons. An owner becomes ill, a dog gets lost and picked up by a shelter, a family moves and is unable to take the dog along, people get divorced or married, move or have different living arrangements, an owner’s job starts to require a lot of time or travel, people have a baby and decide they can’t handle a dog. Almost always it is no reflection on the dog, he just gets lost in the shuffle.

We begin by doing an initial evaluation of each dog coming into our care to identify any medical needs, or behavioral issues. If a determination is made that the dog is adoptable it is then placed in one of our experienced foster homes. We do not have a shelter. Our kind volunteer foster homes provide food and shelter to the homeless dogs. The foster homes care for and work with the dogs until a proper adoptive home can be found.

The first step in adopting is completing the adoption application. If you have found a specific dog you are interested in, please list the dog on the application. If you have questions about a specific dog, please email the contact listed on that dog’s profile, they know the dog best.

You will then be contacted by one of our volunteers for a home visit to determine if you are the best match for the dog you have chosen. Additionally, we will call the references listed on your application. In the event you have not chosen a specific dog, we may make several suggestions of animals that would best match your family. We require that an application be filled out prior to you meeting any dog, as these dogs live with our foster families and filling out the application shows you are committed and serious about adopting a dog.

We are emotionally tied to the dogs we rescue and remain committed to the dogs and their adoptive families for their life. If there is a problem in keeping the adoptive dog, we require that the dog come back to us for rehoming at anytime during their life. Additionally, if there are problems or concerns with the health or well being of a dog, we are there to help the adoptive family with the support they require.

Please realize that we are volunteers with full-time jobs, families, and animals of our own. We do this because we love the dogs. Many of us work more hours doing rescue work than we do at our full-time jobs. While we make every effort to process applications and return phone calls/emails immediately, it may not always be possible. Please, be patient with us. Emergency rescues and calls about the safety/medical needs of our animals must take priority. We will respond to ALL applications submitted as soon as possible. Feel free to email us at info@peisandstrays.com with any questions you may have about the process.

The following “requirements” are intended as a guideline for adoption. Our goal is to find the best possible home for our Rescue dogs. If this means “bending the rules” then we may do so at our discretion. So, if you find that you do not fulfill all of the following “requirements” but know that you could provide a great home for a Shar-Pei or one of our other dogs, please do not hesitate to fill out an adoption application!

People interested in adopting a Shar-Pei or another dog through Peis & Strays, must fill out an application and submit it for approval. The application process helps us to match the your family’s criteria with the correct dog. We will only adopt a Shar Pei into an indoor home and we prefer adoptive homes have a fence, as fences provide a safe environment for your dog. We do make exceptions to the fence rule, but only to homes who can prove a successful history with leash walking.

We will not adopt a Pei into a home where the other animals are not spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering your animals is one of the most important things that you can do to help with the pet overpopulation problem. We do, however, recognize the fact that some animals cannot be altered because of age or medical problems. We are willing to consider adoptions into these types of situations.

Finally, once your application is approved, and you are matched with a dog, you will be asked to sign a contract. The contract states that you agree to provide all necessary medical care for your adopted friend and that you agree to house the dog in the manner which was agreed upon with Rescue. The contract also says that if, at any point, you are unable to keep your adopted pet, it MUST be returned to us in Rescue. This means that the dog cannot be sold, given away, turned into animal control, given to a friend/relative or otherwise disposed of. This contract is in effect for the lifetime of the dog.

The adoption fee for our dogs varies and is specific to each dog. This fee is intended to help defray the costs of the veterinary work the dogs require to be ready for new homes. This may include spaying or neutering, vaccinations, heartworm and flea preventative and eye surgery when necessary. We could not operate without charging adoption fees. Most of the time, the dogs have much more medical work into them than what is charged for an adoption fee.

Our policy is that we only adopt to homes in the New England region. We have instituted this policy due to problems with long distance adoptions and we would really prefer to place our dogs only in the New England states.

We accept owner surrenders in very limited circumstances, and only when we have the resources available. Dogs in pounds and shelters have top priority as their lives are at stake. If we do take an owner surrender, we ask that Owners make a donation of money or supplies to help offset the care of their animal until it can be adopted. Also, we require that all dogs be up to date on vaccinations and spayed or neutered and all pertinent paperwork (medical records, AKC registration, etc.) be turned in with the Dog.

We will ask that all owners fill-out a Dog Personality Profile to help us determine the best possible home for your dog. There is also a surrender contract to sign that gives us ownership of the animal. No dogs are accepted into our program without a temperment evaluation and if they have a history of aggression or biting.

We REQUIRE that dogs be returned to Rescue if the owner finds out that they can no longer keep the animal for any reason. This requirement is for the LIFETIME of the dog. If the dog is being returned due to a correctable behavior problem, we may offer to pay for a session with a behaviorist to see if the problem can be overcome. It is our feeling that the Dog should be given every chance to succeed in its new home. Also, we like to believe that our adoptive owners are committed to making their new relationship work. We want to provide our adoptive parents with any support that we can.